Clutch and detection means for paintball marker loader

ABSTRACT

A drive system for a paintball loader has a motor driven shaft rotatable about a central axis, a drive mechanism attached to the drive shaft, a feed mechanism carrier adjacent the drive mechanism and rotatable about the drive shaft. The drive shaft and the feed mechanism are engaged through a slip clutch and a sensor detects any slippage between them, and sends a corresponding disabling signal to the motor.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication 60/716,478 filed Sep. 13, 2005 which is incorporated byreference as if fully set forth.

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates to the sport of paintball and equipment forplaying paintball games. Specifically, it is a device for use with apaintball loader that rotates a feeder, allows the feeder to operatedespite a paintball jam and significantly reduces the likelihood thatthe feeder, loader or paintballs will be damaged if paintballs jam.

BACKGROUND

Paintball is played on a field by two teams. The object of most games isto “capture” the opposing team's flag before they capture yours. Eachplayer is armed with a paintball marker, which is generally, a gun thatshoots spherical gelatin capsules filled with a non-toxic paint, called“paintballs” under the force of compressed gas. If a player is hit witha paintball fired by a marker of a player on the opposing team he or sheis eliminated from the game.

Paintball loaders sit atop the markers and feed paintballs into themarker. They are comprised of a hopper (the terms “hopper” and “loader”are used interchangeably herein) which stores paintballs, and has anoutlet or exit tube. The outlet tube is connected to an inlet tube of apaintball marker, which is in communication with the breech of thepaintball marker. Many hoppers also contain an agitator or drive system,which is usually performed by an impeller, projection, drive cone,agitator, paddle, arm, fin, carrier, or any other mechanism, such asthose shown and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,954,042, 6,213,110, and6,792,933, all incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.In a gravity feed type hopper, the agitator mixes paintballs so that nojams occur at the exit tube. In a force feed drive system hopper, theagitator forces paintballs through the exit tube. Because it isdesirable to eliminate as many opposing players as possible, paintballmarkers are capable of rapid fire. To accommodate this, paintballhoppers hold a large amount of paintballs and the agitators are capableof feeding these paintballs to the marker rapidly.

While this allows for rapid fire, it also increases the likelihood thatpaintballs will jam in the outlet and/or inlet tubes and thereby“back-up” into hopper. In the loaders currently known in the art, thefeeder or agitator continues to rotate despite the jam. Thus, theimpellers of the feeder or agitator continue to try to drive paintballsthrough the jammed tubes. This often stops the feeding of paintballs,damages the paintballs and sometimes renders the feeder or loaderinoperable. Thus, there is a need for a drive system for a paintballloader that controls the rotation of a feeder or agitator whenpaintballs jam, and shuts off the motor driving the agitator. There isalso a need for a device frees up the jam and begins rotatingimmediately once the jam is cleared so that a player may resume playquickly. The present invention satisfies these needs.

SUMMARY

The present invention is a drive system for a paintball loadercomprising a motor driven shaft rotatable about a central axis, a drivemechanism attached to the drive shaft, a feed mechanism carrier adjacentthe drive mechanism and rotatable about the drive shaft, wherein thedrive shaft and the feed mechanism are engaged through a slip clutch.

The present invention is a drive system for a paintball loadercomprising a stepper motor driven shaft rotatable about a central axis,a drive mechanism attached to the drive shaft, a feed mechanism carrieradjacent the drive mechanism and rotatable about the drive shaft,wherein the drive shaft and the feed mechanism are engaged through aslip clutch.

In every embodiment disclosed below, the present invention is easily“retrofitted” so that it can be used with all existing styles ofpaintball loaders, including, but not limited to “force feed”, “activefeed”, and “agitating” loaders.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an elevation view of a loader attached to a paintball marker.

FIG. 2 is a bottom isometric view of a paintball feed mechanismaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a top isometric view of a paintball feed mechanism accordingto the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a bottom isometric view of a paintball feed mechanismaccording to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As used herein, the term “paintball feeder”, “feed mechanism”, “feeder”,or “paintball impeller” refers to any apparatus that impels paintballsfrom a hopper into a gas gun breech.

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a rapid feed paintball loader 40operatively attached to a representative paintball gun 20 illustrated inphantom. The paintball gun 20 includes a main body 22, a compressed gascylinder 24, a front handgrip 26, a barrel 28, and a rear handgrip 30.The paintball gun also includes an inlet tube 32 leading to a firingchamber (not shown) in the interior of the main body and a trigger 34.The front handgrip projects downwardly from the barrel and provides anarea for gripping by an operator of the paintball gun. The compressedgas cylinder is typically secured to a rear portion of the paintballgun. The compressed gas cylinder normally contains carbon dioxide,although any compressible gas may be used.

In operating the paintball gun 20, the trigger 34 is squeezed, therebyactuating the compressed gas cylinder to release bursts of compressedgas. The bursts of gas are used to eject paintballs 53 outwardly throughthe barrel 28. The paintballs are continually fed by the paintballloader 40 through its outlet tube 52 to the inlet tube 32, and then tothe firing chamber. The actual feed is done by gravity, but jams in theoutlet tube 52 are discouraged by a motorized feed assembly 140 locatedwithin the loader 40, which is shown in more detail in FIGS. 2 and 3.

The feed assembly comprises several embodiments, the first of whichcomprises a drive cone 100, clutch plate 108, drive shaft 300, and motor400. The drive cone 100 rotates about axis 204 and has fins 104 hold anddrive the paintballs 53 towards the outlet tube 52 to prevent jammingand facilitate loading.

The motor 400 drives the drive shaft 108, which in turn drives theclutch plate 200. The clutch plate 200 engages and drives a clutchengaging surface 106 on the bottom of the drive cone 100. During asituation where the ball jams, rather than the motor 400 continuing todrive the fins 104 and crush the paintball 53, the clutch plate 200slips against the drive cone's engaging surface 106 when the engagingsurface 106 exerts a predetermined amount of resistance to therotational force applied by the clutch plate (this resistance could bemodified by the user or a predetermined setting from the factory).

When this slippage occurs, sensors 109 and/or 209 in the drive cone 100and clutch plate 200 respectively, detect the slippage and relay asignal to a controller 500. The controller, on receipt of the signal,sends a disabling signal to the motor 400 that turns off the motor untilthe jam is cleared.

The sensors 109, 209 may be located at one or both of the drive cone andclutch plate. They may also be adapted to measure the torque on thedriveshaft, or even the torque on the motor, so long as they send asignal to the controller that in turn disables the motor upon slippage.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the clutch mechanism is a rotaryclutch 200 a, it being understood that other clutches could be used,including clutches between the motor and driveshaft 108 and those builtinto the drive mechanism of the motor.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the motor is a steppermotor, as is known in the art. Any type of motor may be substituted forthe stepper motor. A motor controller is provided, including at leastone sensor. The controller may be provided as an electrical circuit, andmay be a circuit including a microprocessor.

When an extension of the feed mechanism encounters a jammed paintball, asignal is sent to the controller that a jam has occurred. The controllersends a signal to the motor to cease turning the drive shaft in thedirection it is initially rotating (for example, counterclockwise), andto turn in the opposite direction (i.e., clockwise) for a period of timeT. The time T may be set in the controller, or may be user-selectable.Similarly, the controller may be set to turn the motor in the oppositedirection for an angular distance D, which may be a portion of arotation, a full rotation in the opposite direction, or a plurality ofrotations. After time T, or distance D, the controller will send asignal back to the motor to rotate the drive shaft back in the originaldirection (i.e., counterclockwise). In this manner, the jam will becleared.

The sensor may be provided, for example, as a torsion sensor adapted tomeasure the torque on the feed mechanism or may be provided as a sensorfor detecting the position of the feed mechanism or if the feedmechanism ceases moving. For example, an optical sensor having anemitter and a receiver may be used to detect the movement of the feedmechanism, and may be position within the loader body to detect suchposition.

It is thus believed that the operation and construction of the presentinvention will be apparent from the foregoing description. While theapparatus shown and described has been characterized as being preferred,it will be readily apparent that various changes and modifications couldbe made therein without departing from the scope of the invention asdefined in the following claims.

Having thus described in detail several embodiments of the presentinvention, it is to be appreciated and will be apparent to those skilledin the art that many physical changes, only a few of which areexemplified in the detailed description of the invention, could be madewithout altering the inventive concepts and principles embodied therein.It is also to be appreciated that numerous embodiments incorporatingonly part of the preferred embodiments are possible which do not alter,with respect to those parts, the inventive concepts and principlesembodied therein. The present embodiment and optional configurations aretherefore to be considered in all respects as exemplary and/orillustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention beingindicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoingdescription, and all other embodiments and changes to this embodimentwhich come within the meaning and range of equivalency of said claimsare therefore to be embraced therein.

1. A drive system for a paintball loader comprising: a motor that drivesa drive shaft rotatable about a central axis; a clutch plate engaged tothe drive shaft; a drive cone that rotates about the central axis; acontroller that controls the motor; wherein the clutch plate drives therotation of the drive cone in a clutch-driven engagement; wherein whenthe clutch plate slips against the drive cone, the controller receives asignal, and in turn transmits a signal to the motor that disables themotor.
 2. A drive system for a paintball loader comprising: a motor thatdrives a drive shaft rotatable about a central axis; a clutch plateengaged to the drive shaft and that drives a drive cone about thecentral axis in a clutch-driven engagement, the drive cone configured todirect paintballs from the loader to a paintball marker; a controllerthat controls the motor; wherein in response to the clutch plateslipping against the drive cone, the controller disables the motor for apredetermined time period.
 3. The drive system of claim 2, furthercomprising a sensor on the clutch plate that detects when the clutchplate slips against the drive cone and upon detection of the slippage,sends a corresponding signal to the controller.
 4. The drive system ofclaim 2, further comprising a sensor on the drive cone that detects whenthe clutch plate slips against the drive cone and upon detection of theslippage, sends a corresponding signal to the controller.
 5. The drivesystem of claim 2, further comprising a sensor that detects torque onthe drive shaft, and upon detection of a predetermined amount of torque,sends a corresponding signal to the controller.
 6. The drive system ofclaim 2, further comprising a sensor that detects torque on the driveshaft, and upon detection of a predetermined change in torque, sends acorresponding signal to the controller.
 7. The drive system of claim 2,further comprising a sensor that detects torque on the motor, and upondetection of a predetermined amount of torque, sends a correspondingsignal to the controller.
 8. The drive system of claim 2, furthercomprising a sensor that detects torque on the motor, and upon detectionof a predetermined change in torque, sends a corresponding signal to thecontroller.
 9. A drive system for a paintball loader comprising: a motorthat drives a drive shaft rotatable about a central axis; a clutch plateengaged to the drive shaft and that drives a drive cone about thecentral axis in a clutch-driven engagement, the drive cone configured todirect paintballs from the loader to a paintball marker; a controllerthat controls the motor; wherein in response to the clutch plateslipping against the drive cone, the controller operates the motor inreverse for a predetermined period of time.